SB 1358 Summary

• Establishes the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) as part of Michigan's public education system under Part 7c, with powers to operate, manage, and authorize public schools as an alternative to traditional school district governance.

• Creates governance structure for the EAA including an authority board and chancellor position; beginning January 1, 2014, the board consists of 7 members appointed by the governor with senate confirmation and legislative nominees.

• Grants the EAA broad powers including property acquisition and management, bonding authority, employment of personnel with flexible compensation models, and ability to implement alternative teaching methods and instructional delivery systems.

• Establishes process for identifying lowest-achieving 5% of public schools and placing them under state supervision with required redesign plans implementing federal school intervention models (turnaround, restart, transformation, or school closure).

• Creates mechanism for redeploying unused school buildings to eligible public schools including public school academies and the achievement authority, with leasing and sale provisions allowing access to closed district buildings for continued educational use.